


Shadowbroker

by hrhsparklefists



Series: The Morning Star [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Break Up, F/M, Fluff, former Liara/Shep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 01:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9099856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hrhsparklefists/pseuds/hrhsparklefists
Summary: Danika has never really been graceful at ending relationships. They've either been done by moving literally to another planet or by death. Though apparently, her own didn't get her out of this one.
Or; When Shepard picks an awful time to break up with Liara.





	

Liara. Liara Liara Liara.

Liara. Former lover. Ex-girlfriend, it seems. 

Liara. Who sold Shepard's body to Cerberus. 

That Liara. Whom Shepard had been avoiding. 

The Liara, whose office she had just walked out of, was nothing like the Liara she remembers. 

If the strained reunion from a few months earlier hadn't been a sign that she knew about Shepard and Garrus, this meeting definitely was. No doubt about it.

Shepard couldn't shake the coldness from their encounter; the breezy Illium hallway did nothing to help matters either.

Tali and Garrus were waiting for her down at the kiosks, joking quietly together. The three of them had been through hell and back together multiple times and had still managed to come out the other side, unwavering in their friendship and dedication to one another. And still able to tell some wicked jokes. Seeing her friends lightheartedly joking, their shoulders shaking with mirth, warmed her.

Garrus was the first of the two to spot her. She watched as his body language shifted from open and amused to a practiced neutral. Danika made a mental note to tell him later that it needed work; he looked like he was trying hard not to fart. The thought had her wondering if turians ever got gassy. 

Tali was the first to stand with a genial, "What's the plan, Shepard?"

"Liara wants to meet her back at her apartment; we're going after The Shadowbroker."

Garrus looked like he was just asked to swallow a swarm of bees. Whether it was the prospect of going after the Shadowbroker, or the fact that Liara's apartment was involved, she didn't know. 

“Do you two need help, or will you be going alone?” Tali asked.

"How are we getting there?" Garrus' tone was just as measured as his face. 

"Figured a cab would be our best bet," Shepard replied glibly as she stepped towards the taxi stand. 

Shepard had to give Tali credit; she knew when something was up. And how to quietly give her teammates some space. Honestly, Danika isn’t sure if Garrus and herself would have gotten to the good bits had it not been for Tali's urging. The awkwardness of potentially unrequited feelings had been a major hurdle for them - more so than the whole ‘you could potentially be fatally allergic to each other’ issue. 

All this to say, Tali climbed into the driver’s seat of the cab. The couple sat next to each other in the back, as Tali had also blocked off the other front seat to force them next to each other. Garrus turned to stare determinedly out the window as the cab took off. 

Danika studied the side of his face while Tali occupied herself with driving, studiously tuning out her friends.

"Garrus?" Shepard nudged the turian next to her.

No response.

She sighed and reached over, taking his hand which had been picking at a joint in his armor. 

"Garrus." 

"Sorry, Shepard." 

Shepard shook her head and tugged on his arm. He leaned towards her easily and she pressed a quick kiss to the scar on his lip. 

Garrus pressed their foreheads together for a few seconds and took a deep breath. 

They pulled apart as the cab pulled up to Liara's apartment. 

The trio climbed out of the cab and walked towards the building. 

"I told you, Garrus. You're it for me." She whispered into his shoulder before picking up the pace to catch up with Tali.

With a backward glance and shy smile directed at Garrus, Shepard slipped through the open door to the building. 

 

Okay, Shepard had to admit, she was not expecting to walk into an active crime scene. Or for that active crime scene to turn out to be a setup. Liara had made some dangerous friends in the two years Shepard had been dead - to put it mildly. 

And now? Let's just say Shepard was definitely not expecting to be in a car chase dodging proximity mines while chasing a crazy asari, with her ex and her current partner in the car. 

Well, soon to be ex. That's the thing about having been dead for two years, your body somehow becoming Cerberus property, and then used for a crazy experiment. Things, ah, fall through the cracks. Like, for instance, telling your girlfriend that you and the turian you'd been crazy about since the first night you two got drunk together three years ago actually reciprocated your feelings. And that the two of you had been together for the past few months now…And that you kind of wanted it to be a ‘for forever’ sort of thing.

So yeah, not the ideal situation in which to discuss these things. But…

Emotions were running high, on both ends. It was bound to happen at some point. 

Shepard had tried to bring up their relationship tactfully, well as tactfully as one could while they were in the middle of a fire fight. With a crazy asari. Who just would not stay still. 

Looking back, she had to admit there had definitely been a better way and time to go about it.

"Our relationship?! OUR RELATIONSHIP?!" Liara boomed as she tossed aside a merc. "You were dead for two years!"

"Yeah, and I came back!" Shepard responded as she punched a guy, sending him tumbling backward before she shot him in the chest. Before she could follow up with her planned line of thought, the rogue asari appeared in front of them. 

“Shit,” Shepard gasped, falling back behind cover. 

Garrus hit the Shadowbroker's agent with a concussive shot that sent her off balance, giving Shepard the opportunity to pop up and hit her with a powerful biotic attack. Vasir's body crumpled to the ground.

Shepard tipped her head back and took a deep breath to calm her rapid heartbeat. To her right, she could hear Garrus as he stood up from where he was taking cover. Behind her she could hear Liara's angry footsteps rapidly approaching her.

Before she could even get out a word, Liara had closed the gap between them, gun drawn. Danika only had a moment to think, 'I survived the Omega 4 relay only to be gunned down by an angry Liara,' before the asari in question repeatedly shot the body lying at Shepard's feet.

"Yes! You came back! And now Garrus is doing a lot more than just calibrating the Normandy's guns!" She roared, waving her gun around.

With no idea how to respond to that Shepard remained quiet, trying hard to stifle a laugh as she watched Garrus slowly slide back into the cover he’d just left. The fear of the loaded gun being recklessly waved around in front of her face was enough to keep her silent composure. 

Her silence must have been incriminating enough. Liara turned and stalked away, face the picture of a storm, presumably, to find them a ride off the tower. Though, Danika worried, it was entirely possible the asari was just leaving them behind.

Garrus' arm sliding around her waist drew her from her thoughts. Unconsciously, she leaned into the comfort of his presence. 

"Wait!" She yelped before accusatorially turning on him, "You were just gonna throw me to the wolves!" Pushing against his grip with a small laugh.

"Hey, I had my sniper rifle at the ready just in case." He purred into her ear, "Did you honestly think I'd walk into a suicide mission with you but say nah, I'll leave her on her own to face an apocalyptic Liara?" 

"It's entirely possible," Shepard quipped back. 

"You wound me, Shepard," Garrus gasped in mock hurt.

"Yeah, yeah." 

Garrus pressed his forehead to hers. They stayed like that a moment before pulling apart and heading after Liara.

"Though, Shepard?"

"Hm?"

"We really need to work on your timing. I mean, in the middle of a fire fight? Really?"

Shepard barked out a laugh and shrugged.

**Author's Note:**

> First Mass Effect fic for my Shep.  
> Didn't really tag Liara/Shep because I don't want it turning up in the relationship tag if people don't want to see my Shep breaking up with her.


End file.
